1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a network monitoring system that monitors the state of utilization of information processing apparatuses connected to a network, as well as to the program used thereby, and more particularly, to an information processing system in which operation command information is issued from an information distribution apparatus and is received by one of the information processing apparatuses over a network and processing is performed based on such information, and in which appropriate utilization of each information processing apparatus is ensured, as well as to an information processing apparatus, information distribution apparatus, network monitoring apparatus and network monitoring program included in such information processing system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Information processing apparatuses such as scanners and printers are conventionally used while connected to a network. Various technologies have been proposed using which the information regarding the state of utilization of these apparatuses is obtained. For example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application H11-275291 discloses a technology to obtain information regarding the state of utilization of scanners, for example, and to select an available machine. Furthermore, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application H10-133524 discloses a technology to manage the operation of printers. In addition, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application 2000-49902 discloses a technology in which in the event of a circuit failure or a recovery of such failure, the contents of such failure or recovery is notified via e-mail.
However, using the conventional art described above, it has not been possible to provide appropriate measures to address an imbalance in the state of utilization among the apparatuses. Therefore, the situation has occurred in which the capabilities of each apparatus are not fully utilized.